Christmas spirit: For whom do you shop?

Today is the busiest shopping day of the year, when millions of Americans overwhelmed by the Christmas spirit swarm shopping malls like locusts over the fields of ancient Egypt and redistribute the nation’s wealth one half-off item at a time. Or something.

It’s the Christmas spirit part we are not so sure about. Don’t get us wrong, buying things to give to others is what Christmas shopping is all about. But which others? Your immediate family? Your close friends? How much do we spend on the truly needy vs. those closest to us?

Could you take a portion of your Christmas budget, maybe 10 percent, or if not that much, even two or three percent, and donate it to a worthy charity? (Our recommended charity is the Union Leader Santa Fund for the Salvation Army, but take your pick.) Could you volunteer at a soup kitchen or as a bell-ringer, donate a coat, prepare a meal for an elderly member of your church, or even organize a group to go Christmas caroling at a retirement home?

Imagine the joy we could bring if we all made a commitment to help someone else this Christmas. You could start today. We hear the sales are pretty good this weekend.